I'm slowly realizing that Neil Jordan is one of my favorite directors. Not because he does anything truly amazing every time he gets behind the camera, but because he has some interesting ideas and usually fleshes them out into generally solid pictures. Take The Brave One as an example.

People claiming the film to be dull are probably those that really want revenge and blood and guts and fist pumping. Not a methodical character study that looks at the idea of the hollowness of the revenge emotion from a new and interesting angle. So yeah, if you want blowed-up real good, go watch Death Sentence or Death Wish. Sure Harry Brown is a fun picture, but it's just an old…

In terms of plot this is just another "Death Wish" remake, but Foster's typically incredible performance and some artful direction from Neil Jordan this becomes something that satisfies both genre thrills while also working as a heartfelt drama. Jodie Foster really shines in thrillers, think her amazing turns in "Silence of the Lambs" "Inside Man" and "Panic Room". What she accomplishes in these films is balancing a believable vulnerability with this incredible confidence that sells whatever her character has to do to accomplish her goals. This is one of her highlight performances, much of the first hour is just her alone, its not till over an hour in that she begins to interact with her co lead Terrence Howard. Howard…

Jody Foster's presence was why I stuck it on my Netflix list, but I was otherwise a bit wary... the director, Neil Jordan has an extremely inconsistent body of work, from interesting (The Crying Game) to questionable (Interview With a Vampire, whose major flaw was bad casting, something for which Jordan can't be held responsible) to downright awful (We're No Angels). The last film I saw of his was pleasant enough (Ondine, a nice Irish fairly tale reminiscent of The Secret of Roan Inish, though not as good), so I tried to keep an open mind with this one. In the end I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Jodie Foster delivers a powerful performance as the second vigilante in 2007 to be inspired by Mr. Charles Bronson (the other being Kevin Bacon in Death Sentence). The main problems lie within the layout of the story, itself a somewhat overlong experience given its subject matter, and the way it overcomes obstacles with such ease. The coincidences and plot elements pile up too quickly and clash with the intended realism. Still, The Brave One is surprisingly raw for a studio picture, and despite it being awfully convenient for our hero to go on her path it's still a very well-made picture.

A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.

The Brave One has a lot of problems, but I did enjoy it on a base level. I watched it late on a Sunday night and it's perfect for that timeslot. Plot wise it's a generic revenge film that message wise is on dodgy ground, but I can still find a film entertaining despite not agreeing with what is on screen.

The Brave One works because of the chemistry between Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard, both of them elevate the run of the mill script with emotional performances. You also get a woman kicking arse a full 8 years before Furiosa in Mad Max as well.

If you treat this film as a modern version of Deathwish but with better acting then you can something out of it.

This could quite easily have been a decidedly average film. Neil Jordan makes sure it is not with Jodie Foster good in the lead role as well. Granted Jordan's style is not for everyone, however if you are looking for good acting, an interesting visual style and a film that is fairly suspenseful, then look no further. It won't win any awards, and people who want "bang for their buck" will likely be bored and find it dull, but for the slightly more discerning viewer, this should do nicely.

Look at Jodie Foster in the poster for this movie. That's how you'll feel if you give up an evening to watch it. Setting a vigilante movie in the world of public radio is not enough to save it (they missed a trick not calling the film 'Dead Air'). Derivative and forgettable.

This movie is about a woman that loses his groom in a sudden attack in Central Park and have their dog kidnapped. After recovering, she decides to look for some information about her case in the police station, but they don't have enough information. Feeling unprotected, she buys an unlicensed gun and begin doing some vigilante acts in the city.

Foster gives a decent performance, and the idea of the movie is alright (if nothing novel); however, in execution it comes across as a mix of thriller and character piece, and it needed vastly better writing to carry both aspects—especially when it came to the core relationship between Erica and the detective.

I enjoyed watching Erica work at recording audio for her radio show, and that came back around when it turned out that she had recorded an event she was a part of. This struck me as the seed of a structural conceit or a framework for her story or experience of it, but it failed to bear fruit.

There was some potential here, but the lines are so terribly wooden and the few interesting ideas just aren't explored. It's not a thoroughly loathsome movie, but you shouldn't bother to see it.

Jody Foster's presence was why I stuck it on my Netflix list, but I was otherwise a bit wary... the director, Neil Jordan has an extremely inconsistent body of work, from interesting (The Crying Game) to questionable (Interview With a Vampire, whose major flaw was bad casting, something for which Jordan can't be held responsible) to downright awful (We're No Angels). The last film I saw of his was pleasant enough (Ondine, a nice Irish fairly tale reminiscent of The Secret of Roan Inish, though not as good), so I tried to keep an open mind with this one. In the end I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

This is Jodie Foster's Death Wish knock-off. There are many like it, but this one is hers.

She also has a bash at being the Punisher, in a film that should be at least as good as that idea sounds. Taxi Driver looms in the background, but this is a lumpen and unsatisfying outing that's bolstered but not saved by Foster's fine performance.

Even as a gender-flipped version of this kind of revenge movie, it's still a spin on Seven Psychopaths' guide to action movie screenwriting- you can't kill the dog, only ethnic minorities.